Panjab Employees Protest AAP’s Delay on Pension Scheme

Panjab govt. employees and pensioners have expressed frustration with AAP for failing to fulfill its pre-election promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). On 18 Nov, two days before the state Assembly By-Polls, employees and pensioners observed a ‘black day’ by wearing black badges and burning dummy copies of the OPS notification issued by the state govt. New Pension Scheme (NPS) employees and pensioners actively campaigned against AAP, urging voters to support parties that will restore the OPS. As campaigning reached its final stage, disgruntled govt. employees under the Purani Pension Bahali Sangharsh Committee (old pension restoration struggle committee; PPBSC) banner launched a door-to-door poster campaign demanding the implementation of the OPS. Employees have drawn comparisons to neighboring Himachal Pradesh (HP), where the INC govt. swiftly implemented the OPS after coming to power in 2022. The AAP govt. in Panjab too had issued a notification on 18 Nov 2022 stating all govt. employees under the NPS would receive OPS benefits. A committee was formed in January 2023 to formulate standard operating procedures for implementation. Two years later, the OPS has yet to be reinstated (SDW Vol 2, Issue 11, Story 2). Jasvir Singh Talwara, state convener of PPBSC, criticized the govt. for the delay, questioning why Panjab cannot implement the OPS if HP managed to do so swiftly. On 25 Nov, PPBSC Hoshiarpur district convenor Sanjeev Dhoot, along with Parmjit Singh Katib, Pawanveer Singh, and Inderjit Singh, reminded the AAP govt. that employees nationwide are preparing a national strategy against NPS. Talwara noted that each constituency has at least 3K govt. employees under NPS.